Record Breaker

Arsenal played their tenth game of the 2017/18 season on Saturday, recording a 2-1 win over Swansea. Aaron Ramsey scored the winner, putting away his 50^th goal for the club. But the undisputed man of the match was wing-back Sead Kolasinac, picked up for free in the summer.

But what of Arsenals other major summer signing? Alexandre Lacazette joined for a club record fee, and after ten league games this season, let’s see what the stats have to say about his performance.

Lacazette has put away 5 goals in the league this season, having been ever present in the league for Arsenal. There has been discontent amongst supporters. Those who wish to see the Frenchman play the full 90 minutes, as he is regularly substituted in the latter stages.

However, he has amassed 717 league minutes this season, which is substantial for a new signing as Wenger analyses how he physically copes with the rigours of the Premier League. Furthermore, he is sharing those minutes with compatriot Giroud, who is yet to start this season, despite scoring regularly in cup competitions.

New Environment

Lacazette is still adapting to the new environment, so a return of 0.5 goals a game at this stage is admirable, particularly against some tough opponents.

He is also adapting to a new role, notching up 22 passes per game in his advanced position. Compare this to his style last season, where he would average around 28 passes a game, playing alongside a second striker in the form of Nabil Fekir generally.

He is yet to register an assist so far, but that can, again, be attributed to his forward role in the team. He is not known for his assisting ability anyway, his highest tally coming in 2014/15 with 6. But it is likely that that will change over time, particularly with the reintroduction of Sanchez and Ozil into the starting line-up.

More to Come

Despite the positives however, there is still a lot more to come from Lacazette. While the numbers look good, with a satisfactory number of goals and decent link-up play, fans will want to see more individual quality from the Frenchman.

While he was by no means the most expensive signing made by an English club this summer, Lacazette clearly has significant quality, and fans will want to see his name in the running for the Golden Boot in May.

Pipped in 2016/17 by Cavani, Lacazette fired 28 goals home last year, in only 30 appearances. This amounts to 0.93 goals per game, which is a staggering return over a whole season. Alex will be hoping to go the distance this season, and overtake the like of Kane and Morata for top spot.

He’s only scored once away from home so far this year, so hopefully he can increase his scoring rate on the road, starting this weekend in the biggest game of the season so far, against Manchester City.